Legal Assistance for Military Personnel

1.
Q.
HOW MUCH CHILD SUPPORT SHOULD I RECEIVE IF I'M SEPARATED
FROM MY SPOUSE?

A.
There is no set amount that is "enough child support"
in any given case. Child
support varies according to the needs of the child or children,
the incomes of the parents, the parents' reasonable needs and the
accustomed standard of living of the child(ren), among other things,
and this is set out as the standards for determining child support
under General Statutes §50-13.4(c).

2.
Q.
WHO DECIDES HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
WHAT IF THE OTHER PARENT AND I CANNOT AGREE ON THE AMOUNT
OF CHILD SUPPORT?

A.
If the two of you are able to reach agreement on a sum, that
amount should be set out in a separation agreement.
If the separation agreement sets out a specific sum, that
figure that will be binding.
If the parties cannot agree, you may petition the court to
set the amount of child support that will be required.

3.
Q.
WHAT COURT DECIDES CHILD SUPPORT?

A.
In North Carolina, the district court hears child support
cases. A child support
case is usually heard in the county where the child is living.
If the father lives in another state and our state lacks
any contacts with him, you may need to have the case heard there
instead of here.

4.
Q.
CAN THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT OFFICE HELP ME?

A.
Yes -- the county Child Support Enforcement Office can help
you establish or enforce child support.
This can also be done with a private attorney.

5.
Q.
HOW DO I KNOW HOW MUCH CHILD SUPPORT I NEED?

A.
There is no "right amount" of child support.
Many states have adopted child support guidelines.
In North Carolina, these guidelines on child support are
often used by the judge in setting child support and by the parties
or attorneys in settling support cases.

6.
Q.
WHAT IF I NEED MORE CHILD SUPPORT?

A.
The Guidelines are flexible and allow for a child's special
needs, extremely high or low income and other factors the court
finds to be important. Make
a list of all monthly expenses for your household and apportion
the expenses between yourself and the child or children.
Be sure to set aside a certain portion of the rent, utilities
and food for each child. You
should also consider whether to apportion such expenses as car payments,
gasoline and medical bills for each child.
You must support
the child or children and you
are the one who best knows the facts, needs and expenses.
The judge can go outside the Guidelines, but it is up to
you to prove the need for a variance from the Guidelines.

7.
Q.
WHEN MY CHILD IS VISITING MY EX-HUSBAND, CAN HE REDUCE THE
CHILD SUPPORT PAID TO ME?

A.
No. Unless the
court order or separation agreement specifically provides for a
reduction, the child support payment should remain the same.

8.
Q.
IF I CANNOT SEE MY CHILD FOR VISITATION, CAN I STOP PAYING
CHILD SUPPORT?

A.
Under North Carolina law, denial of visitation is not legal
justification for withholding child support.
Neither is lack of child support a legal excuse for refusing
the other parent visitation rights.
The parents do not have the right to try to link together
these separate obligations.
Even if a parent is not paying any child support, he may
still visit his children.
And even if a parent is not allowing visitation, the children
are still entitled to child support.

9.
Q.
WHEN DOES CHILD SUPPORT STOP?

A.
Child support, without an agreement or court order, usually
ends at the child's eighteenth birthday, although it will continue
beyond then if the child is still in high school, so long as the
child is not over twenty years old.
A separation agreement or court order by consent may set
a higher age, such as upon graduation from college or at age twenty-one. Child support may end earlier than the above if the child is
emancipated, such as by joining the military, moving away from home
or getting married.

10.
Q.
CAN THE OTHER PARENT'S PAYCHECK BE GARNISHED FOR CHILD SUPPORT?

A.
Yes. Under North
Carolina law, garnishment of a paycheck for child support may be
ordered for up to forty percent (40%) of the net available pay.
Garnishment is a court proceeding that requires a lawyer
or the help of the Child Support Enforcement Office.
Garnishment is allowed only if a court
order for child support is violated; it does not apply if there
is only a separation agreement.
Wage assignment is also used to take child support directly
from a parent's pay if there has been a prior child support order.

11.
Q.
WHAT IF I NEED MORE CHILD SUPPORT IN THE FUTURE?

A.
If the child support is set out in a court order, you may
petition the court to increase child support if you can show that
there has been a substantial change of circumstances since the date
the order was signed. Such
a change may consist of increased living expenses, inflation or
an increase in the earnings of the other parent.
Sometimes the parents can agree between themselves on a regular
increase in child support.
If they wish, they can enter into an agreement that adjusts
child support annually on the basis of, say, the Consumer Price
Index or the wage increases of the noncustodial parent.
When the parents cannot agree, the court must
resolve the matter and the custodial parent must prove that
present child support is inadequate.

12.
Q.
CAN CHILD SUPPORT ALSO BE REDUCED?

A.
Yes. The court
has the power to modify child support upwards or downwards, so long
as there has been a substantial change of circumstances since the
entry of the original order.
Thus, for example, a parent who just lost his job or has
had a substantial pay cut could petition the court to reduce the
child support payments that he is making.

13.
Q.
CAN CHILD SUPPORT BE PAID THROUGH THE COURT?

A.
Yes. If the
court order says so, the child support may be made payable through
the court. Payment
in this manner is the preferred method.
This allows parents to be sure that payments are properly
recorded and avoids problems of payments made in cash directly to
the custodial parent with no receipt given.
If child support is paid through the clerk's office, the
clerk will also help enforce the order through contempt proceedings
if the payor is in arrears. This is done at no cost to the custodial parent.
When payment is made through the clerk, it must be in the
form of cash, certified check or money order so that the payment
can be mailed out to the custodial parent right away, instead of
waiting for a personal check to clear.

14.
Q.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER ASPECTS OF CHILD SUPPORT IN ADDITION
TO THE MONEY PAID EVERY MONTH?

A.
Yes. Such matters
as medical expenses, tax exemptions and college are also important
parts of child support. You
should try to reach an agreement on these with the other parent
if possible. If you
can't agree, then the court can decide the issues of medical expenses
and tax exemptions; the expenses for a child's college education
are beyond the court's powers.

15.
Q.
HOW DOES THE COURT DECIDE MEDICAL EXPENSES?

A.
If one of the parents has medical insurance, that parent
is usually required to keep it in place for the minor child or children.
The remaining costs -- uncovered
health care expenses -- are divided by the judge between the
parents in a way that is fair.
Often this means that the parents divide these expenses equally
or in proportion to their incomes.

16.
Q.
WHEN CHILD SUPPORT IS DETERMINED BY THE COURT, WILL BOTH
PARTIES' INCOMES BE CONSIDERED?

A.
Yes. North Carolina
law requires that the judge takes into account both parties' incomes
in setting child support.

17.
Q.
HOW DOES A JUDGE IN NORTH CAROLINA COMPUTE CHILD SUPPORT?

A.
As of July 1, 1990, North Carolina has been using a child
support guideline or formula called the income shares model. This
approach takes the income of both parents and apportions the child
support responsibility between them according to the ratio of their
incomes to each other. The
calculations are done on set of preprinted child support worksheets.
The income used are gross, pre-tax incomes. Thus if the father earns $3,000
per month and the mother earns $1,000,
the father's child support obligation will be three-fourths (and
the mother's will be one-fourth) of the total needs of the child.

18.
Q.
HOW DOES THE COURT DETERMINE THE "TOTAL NEEDS"
OF THE CHILD?

A.
The total needs of the child will be presumed to be the Basic
Child Support Obligation set out on the child
support schedules available at the clerk's office.
It is impossible to set out these figures here, but they
cover the expected needs of one or more children whose parents earn
up to $12,000 per month combined income.
In general, the amount of the Basic Child Support Obligation
is directly determined by the combined incomes of both parents.
The higher the total income, the higher the obligation.

19.
Q.
WHAT SPECIAL ITEMS OR EXPENSES CAN BE CONSIDERED BY THE COURT
IN SETTING CHILD SUPPORT UNDER THESE GUIDELINES?

A.
In addition to the Basic Child Support Obligation, the judge
should consider:

a)
payments
or expenses for the support of other children

b)
medical
insurance premiums

c)
day-care
expenses necessary to enable a parent to get or keep a job

d)
shared
or split custody arrangements

e)
any
other extraordinary costs or expenses related to the raising of
a child

20.
Q.
WHAT IS SHARED CUSTODY?

A.
The definition of shared custody (for child support purposes)
is any arrangement where the "noncustodial parent" gets
123 or more overnight visits per year with the child.
If this occurs, new rules apply for determining child support
and a new worksheet must be completed for shared
custody, as opposed to sole custody.

21.
Q.
WHAT IS SPLIT CUSTODY?

A.
Split custody is a custody arrangement involving each parent
having physical custody of at least one child.
In a split custody arrangement, an adjustment to child support
is made because each parent will incur direct expenses for rearing
one or more of the children. In this case also, a new child support worksheet must be used.
These worksheets are also available at the courthouse.

22.
Q.
WHAT IF I NEED MORE CHILD SUPPORT THAN THE GUIDELINES SHOW
I SHOULD GET?

A.
You can ask for a variance in child support so long as you
provide written advance notice to the other side before the hearing.
A variance could be needed because of unusually high needs
of a child, extremely high or low income of a parent, or several
other reasons. It is
very important to document the reasons for a variance so that they
can be shown clearly to the court in testimony or written evidence.

23.
Q.
CAN THE COURT AWARD ATTORNEY'S FEES TO ME IN A CHILD SUPPORT
CASE?

A.
Under North Carolina law, if the person asking for attorney's
fees is acting in good faith and is unable to afford the legal expenses
of the lawsuit, she has hired a private attorney, and the other
party is not paying adequate child support when the suit is filed,
it is possible (but not mandatory) for the court to award reasonable
attorney's fees as part of the custody order.

24.
Q.
CAN A CHILD SUPPORT ORDER BE CHANGED?

A.
No child support order is ever "permanent".
However, once a parent is ordered to pay child support, the
judge can change the order only if there is substantial change of
circumstances relating to the needs of the child or the ability
of the payor to make child support payments.

25.
Q.
IF I'M ORDERED TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT, WILL I GET VISITATION
RIGHTS?

A.
Ordinarily the noncustodial parent is entitled to reasonable
visitation rights with a minor child except in extraordinary situations,
such as when the noncustodial parent has a history of abusing the
child. Visitation isn't
related to child support, however, and you must file a motion for
visitation if you want that awarded by the court.

26.
Q.
CAN I REGISTER A COURT ORDER FROM ANOTHER STATE HERE IN NORTH
CAROLINA SO THAT NORTH CAROLINA CAN TREAT IT AS ONE OF ITS OWN DECREES
FOR PURPOSES OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT?

A.
Yes. You may
file and register the other state's decree with the Clerk of Superior
Court in the county where you reside under the Uniform Reciprocal
Enforcement of Support Act.
You may also register a North Carolina decree in the state
where the other parent lives for purposes of enforcing child support.

27.
Q.
WON'T CHILD SUPPORT BE SETTLED WHEN I OBTAIN A DIVORCE?

A.
Divorce decrees do not necessarily settle child support matters,
and a support order can be entered before or after a final decree
of divorce in North Carolina.

28.
Q.
IF I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

A.
See a legal assistance attorney or private attorney as soon
as possible. Your lawyer
can answer many questions and help you to make a fair and intelligent
decision about your choices, options and alternatives.
Our legal assistance office stands ready, willing and able
to help you in these matters.